Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's execution

In a fascinating discovery that gives us an insight into Henry VIII, a newly found passage in a Tudor warrant book reveals that the king gave exact instructions about how he wanted the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to be carried out – right down to the exact spot: “upon the Green within our Tower of London”. She had been found guilty of adultery, incest, and high treason, and was executed on 19 May, 1536, after a show trial that was set up against her and those accused alongside her. Anne had failed to give Henry a son, and now he wanted a new wife – one that came with less complications, and who he hoped would give him an heir.

 

Henry’s instructions for Anne’s execution were directed to the Constable of the Tower of London, though it appears not all of them were followed to Henry’s exacting letter. But his most important demand was respected – that Anne be executed by beheading, and not by being “burned by fire” – a particularly gruesome and painful death. He also specified that it be done by sword, not by axe, and an expert swordsman from Calais was summoned, making Anne’s death more merciful than it might otherwise have been.

 

Overall, Henry’s attention to detail about the execution of his wife was cold and calculating. It was a shocking thing to execute a queen, and by insisting on such a detailed level of planning, Henry demonstrated the strength of his convictions and his expectation of support. What’s more, it set a precedent – Anne would not be the last of Henry’s queens to be executed on his orders.